Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Hits New 12-Month High at $280.86

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $280.86 and last traded at $277.29, with a volume of 138962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $267.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective (up previously from $295.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $315.00 to $312.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $297.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $272.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $296.29.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $27.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $261.47.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.08. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 16.31%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WTW. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 5,568,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,062,000 after buying an additional 158,234 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4,811.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,472,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,217,000 after buying an additional 1,442,722 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,466,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,423,000 after purchasing an additional 32,792 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at $300,782,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 659,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,177,000 after acquiring an additional 23,805 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company operates as an advisory, broking, and solutions company worldwide. It operates through two segments: Health, Wealth & Career and Risk & Broking. The company offers strategy and design consulting, plan management service and support, broking and administration services for health, wellbeing, and other group benefit program, including medical, dental, disability, life, voluntary benefits and other coverages; actuarial support, plan design, and administrative services for pension and retirement savings plans; retirement consulting services and solutions; and integrated solutions that consists of investment discretionary management, pension administration, core actuarial, and communication and change management assistance services.